The Frog Prince
by Acerak
Summary: A chance encounter with a unique summon before the Chunin Exam leads Uzumaki Naruto in a completely different path. One shot.


Contrary to popular belief, the Summoning technique is not the same for every contract. Chakra must move in a specific manner, corresponding to the summons themselves, which allows for a summoner to access the summons they used the technique for.

Normally, this would not be a problem. Most shinobi have good chakra control, and practice for long hours before using contracts in the field, to ensure their own safety and reduce wasted chakra. Uzumaki Naruto was not most shinobi.

He was trying, quite desperately, to save himself, since the pervert Jiraiya had thrown him off a cliff. He kept doing the hand signs and venting chakra into the technique, but nothing happened. What could you expect from someone with low chakra control and little hand sign practice?

In one universe, he would have pulled through and summoned Gamabunta, gone on to save Konoha from Shukaku's rampage with the giant frog's help, fight Sasuke at the Valley of the End, yadda, yadda, yadda. This is not that universe.

As the ground came closer and closer, Naruto panicked. Would he really die here? Splattered against some rocks before he could become Hokage? No! It just wasn't fair!

As Naruto attempted summoning one more time, something shifted. His chakra moved in a similar, but not exactly the same, pattern as previous summonings. As the chakra pattern was sent out, something responded.

The last thing Naruto felt before he blacked out was landing on something. Something slimy and soft…

* * *

"Wake up, summoner."

Naruto groaned, trying to ignore the deep, guttural voice. His head was pounding, as if the Nine-tails had stomped on him multiple times. He kept his eyes closed for now, knowing it would hurt like hell to see something with this headache. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up slowly.

"Oh good, you aren't dead. I would hate to have to go so soon, summoner."

"Wait, I'm not dead? I thought I hit the ground."

"No, you summoned me before you died. Congratulations, since it was your first summoning."

Naruto rubbed his eyes, then paused. Wait, did the voice say that he…summoned it?

"Yeah! I did it, I did it! Now I'll show that pervert that I…I…uh."

While doing his little victory dance, Naruto had turned around, facing the summon. He paused when he noticed exactly what he had summoned.

Standing before him was a massive toad. Easily as large as a two-story building. It also had what looked like crystal spikes growing on its legs. It had the word "frog" written on its front right leg, and a thin mustache that defied gravity, like Kakashi-sensei's hair.

"Wow! I summoned a huge toad, didn't I." He rubbed the back of his head, trying to ease the throbbing.

"Frog."

"What's that?"

"I am a frog. You summoned a frog, not a toad."

Naruto drew in his eyebrows. "Wait, how's that possible? I signed the toad contract. I tried summoning a toad!"

The frog stared at him, then sighed. "You have little knowledge of how summonings work, your chakra control isn't good enough for it, and you said you tried to summon toads. Jiraiya had you sign the toad contract, then proceeded to the nearest bar, am I correct?"

Naruto was about to protest, then closed his mouth with a pout. It was true wasn't it? Jiraiya didn't really want to train him, otherwise he'd have stayed and helped. Ebisu was terrible, not understanding why Naruto failed at traditional learning methods. And Kakashi-sensei…he'd gone to train Sasuke. He wondered, briefly, if Sakura was having a better time. Better to have no help than help from people who didn't understand or didn't care to.

"Kid, you still there?"

"Huh? Yeah, just wondering what I should do now. I failed, so Ero-Sennin's gonna throw me off a cliff again till I get it."

"Why do you wish to learn the Summoning technique? You need better chakra control, especially if you wish to summon from a contract with the…illustrious toads." The frog's tone when describing toads made his opinion of them clear.

Naruto stood up, facing the frog with a stubborn face. "I gotta do it. If I get this right, then Ero-Sennin'll teach me something useful. Then I'll pass the Chunin exams in a month, and show that Hyuuga bastard and Sasuke how strong I am! I will do this!"

The frog stared at him, his face unreadable. Naruto dusted his jumpsuit, then turned back towards the village, heading back up to the cliff and Jiraiya. Hopefully he would show Naruto another way to summon the chakra necessary for a toad.

"Have you considered another option, jinchuriki?"

Naruto turned around, eyes wide. How the hell had this frog known about that?

"How the hell do you know that?"

"I can sense it. I will repeat my question. Have you considered another option? You don't need to continue this path, given how little reward it will give you."

Naruto growled. "You saying I can't do it?"

"No, you cannot. You have one month until these exams, yes? In that month, I guarantee that learning to summon toads will not help you."

"What! Ero-Sennin said they were really powerful! He lied to me? I'll go back there and give him a piece of my mind!"

The frog issued a guttural noise from deep within, silencing Naruto's screed. "No, child, he did not lie. Toads, like snakes and slugs, are incredibly powerful summons. They can be of immense help. But that is their limitation. They can only help, not do. Summoners must learn how their contracted animals fight, and learn to work in tandem during combat. This is long process, easily two years. You don't have that long, as you said."

Naruto kicked a rock to the side. "So what am I supposed to do? No one is willing help me! I'm not gonna win if I can't get training!"

"Are those ears for decoration, kid? I haven't finished. I'd like to offer you the frog contract as an alternative. I assure you we can be as powerful as the toads."

Naruto scoffed. "You just saw that I failed at summoning my contract animal. Why would having frogs instead be better? I'd still have to have better chakra control to use them, and then train with them as well. Also, why offer me the contract? You must have a good summoner if you're that powerful."

"To answer your second question, we don't currently have a summoner. The reason is that our initial summons, used by beginners, aren't that strong compared to initially summoned toads. We also don't get stronger as fast. In addition, we aren't ambivalent to the actions of our summoners. The toads may not care what Jiraiya does, but I do care what you might do. I'd have no problem terminating the contract if you acted immorally. But I don't think you have acted maliciously in your life, and so I get a good feeling about you."

The frog took a deep breath and continued. "Additionally, you might not have good chakra control, yes. But we can mitigate that by using having you continuously summon frogs with my help. It will improve your control and make it more instinctive to summon. Also, the frogs fill more niche roles, working together to really do damage, compared to how powerful a single toad can be."

Seeing the boy's confusion, he clarified. "Niche means a specific role. Like having a specific job." Naruto considered it. Would it really hurt him to switch? Here was a summon that was willing to work with him and make him stronger. Though Jiraiya wouldn't like it.

After a few minutes though, he decided to switch. Jiraiya didn't stand well in Naruto's books right now. Naruto believed a teacher had a job to do whatever it took make a student understand safely, unless danger was absolutely necessary. You didn't need to get thrown off a cliff to learn Summoning.

"Sure, I'll switch."

"Excellent. I sense great things in you, boy. Here is the contract. Your name will be automatically taken off the toad contract when you sign."

As Naruto signed in his blood, he asked, "Hey, what do I call you? Big Frog?"

He laughed. "No, you can call me D.3.S frog."

D.3.S rolled up the finished contract. "Come meet me here tomorrow. We have a lot to cover." With that, he poofed into smoke.

Naruto still couldn't comprehend what happened. But as he headed away to practice water walking, he smiled. D.3.S would teach him willingly. Best day ever.

* * *

"Huh, I wonder how the brat's doing?"

"Oh, Jiraiya-sama! Tell us more of your adventures, please!"

"Oh, of course ladies. Let it never be said the great Jiraiya-sama disappoints women!"

Giggles and sake followed.

* * *

 _One month later, Chunin Exam finals_

Sakura was waiting at the arena, along with the other Konoha genin. She was here to watch Sasuke become a chunin and show everyone he was the best. Naruto would lose to Neji, she believed. It didn't matter what the idiot had practiced in the last month, he would lose to the experience of the older genin. It was obvious, wasn't it.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! How long have you been waiting?"

She turned to him, surprised he was up here. "Naruto! Didn't you hear the announcement? Your match is up now. Go!"

Naruto squawked. "Oh jeez. See you after I win!" He raced off to the arena entrance.

Neji was already there, looking completely disinterested. "So, you showed up. I suppose it is fate that I will show you the difference between you and I."

Naruto just glared at him. "I'm going to beat you for Hinata."

"Both of you ready? Begin!" The referee leapt away.

Neji assumed a Gentle Fist stance. "A loser defending a loser. Typical."

"I'll show you just how wrong you are! Multiple Shadow Clone technique!" One ram sign later, there were 30 clones surrounding the original. With a shout, they charged Neji.

But it was meaningless. Negi spun through them, his hands flowing with chakra as he smashed the clones with light touches. 30 clones later, Neji was confused why Naruto hadn't attacked himself. Then he saw the reason.

Next to Naruto were two small toads. One blue and clear, wearing a strange hat. The other had wings.

Neji scoffed. This was what he had done while Neji had smacked his clones away? It had better have been worth it. "So, you sacrificed those clones to summon two toads?"

"Frogs."

"It doesn't matter what they are, Uzumaki." And with that he was off, aiming a chakra-laden finger at Uzumaki's tenketsu.

As he approached, the frog with wings took off, perching on the top of the arena walls. The other jumped in front of his finger, taking the blow. And just…dropped back down.

Neji snapped out of his shock as Naruto's fist slammed into his jaw, sending him reeling. He quickly reestablished his stance though, forcing Uzumaki to flee. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw the blue frog stealing his chakra from the attack! Neji backed away until the drain stopped.

"Interesting. But I won't let you do that again."

Naruto laughed. "You say that like it matters." Another ram seal, and this time 100 clones popped up.

As the clones all charged, Neji once again blurred through their lines, using his Gentle Fist to attack the clones. But every damn time he attacked, the frog would appear and steal a bit of chakra! He had to push himself to the limit to beat the frog's teleportation. But when he tired himself, he decided enough. Taking a different stance, he spun in place and created a chakra barrier, stunning the Hyuuga main branch with his demonstration of their technique and dispelling the remaining clones that attacked him.

He stood a distance away, wary of the frog that now rested on Uzumaki's shoulder, who was just frowning at him.

"Why do you hate Hinata, huh? Why'd you hurt her so badly?"

Neji stood up slowly, deciding to demonstrate the righteousness of his hatred.

"I'll tell you then, of the shameful history of the Hyuuga clan…"

Naruto listened to Neji, feeling pity for him. Naruto may have been ostracized, but at least he wasn't forced to be a slave without any choice. Still, he would win here, no matter how bad Neji's life had been.

"Do you really think you can beat me? Your summons won't stop me from beating you. You don't have enough chakra to beat my perfect defense, and your little frog can't steal from me if I focus on controlling my chakra."

Naruto smiled like he was about to pull a good prank. "You sure? Let's test that."

Naruto summoned another 100 clones. Unlike before, they charged straight into the Revolving Heaven technique in staggered groups, giving Naruto as much time as possible while keeping Neji stationary. Naruto focused his chakra.

 _Remember, Naruto. This technique is but the first you will learn that can defeat ninja many times your superior, unless they happen to channel their chakra into their ears. In addition, it will be weak for now, growing in strength as you continue training with us. Now, summon my three sons…_

Naruto flashed through the hand seals, then slammed his hand on the ground. "Summoning: Des Frogs!"

This time, three frogs, as tall as himself, appeared next to him.

"Is it time, summoner?"

"Yes, just don't start until I say."

Neji had spun his way through all 100 clones now, and took a moment to reorient himself before facing this new threat. He knew, or rather suspected, that these frogs had their own way of fighting, but he didn't understand why Uzumaki was covering his-.

The crowd winced at the loudness of the three frogs croaking together. The vibrations alone were shaking even the Kage box.

Neji had it far worse. The three frogs had synchronized their noises in his direction. Had he a moment's notice, he might have gotten away, but now he was feeling his sight, hearing, even brain vibrate violently. He threw up, barely keeping on his feet.

Naruto saw a chance. He signaled the frogs to stop with a chakra burst, then rushed over.

Neji tried defending, to his credit. But he was so disoriented that he simply took the blows, one to his stomach, then chest, and finally a kick to his jaw, knocking him out.

As Naruto took a breath and stood victorious, the referee called out. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto."

Polite applause followed, but the crowd was shocked at the stunning upset.

It was the beginning of a new legend.

* * *

Naruto cursed. The bastard had finally shown up to fight Gaara, but now the Ichibi was rampaging, threatening to destroy the village! He would stop this damn thing, even if it killed him. But the only option he had was with a summon. He doubted shadow clones would help here, given the size of the beast.

He narrowed his eyes, remembering a theoretical technique that D.3.S had claimed could help him. Yes, if he used it, along with one more summon he knew, he might be able to wake up Gaara and stop this crazy raccoon. But he needed more chakra.

He turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "Guys, I've got a plan. Do you have any more chakra pills? I need as many as possible."

His teammates looked skeptical, especially Sasuke, but a tree nearly hitting them had them shove a total of 8 pills into his hands.

Perfect.

He swallowed, feeling his chakra levels rise. Flashing through the signs, he summoned another frog, this one as small as his hand, with a large horn on its head. It looked at him expecting orders.

"Unifrog, I want you to wake up Gaara after I finish D.3.S' environment technique, okay?" The frog croaked agreement, jumping onto his shoulder.

"Guys, keep him busy for a minute." As Sasuke charged, doing his best to distract the bijuu, Naruto clumsily did 30 hand seals, then let the chakra flow into the ground, yelling "Field technique: Wetlands!"

All around them and Shukaku, puddles of water started forming, with grass growing inside. He didn't even notice as meter tall grass and some sunken logs formed in the wet ground, soaking their feet as well.

"Alright, do it now, Unifrog."

Sakura and a retreating Sasuke gasped when the small frog jumped and disappeared in a swirl of space. Then, the Ichibi screeched and glared at them, as it slowly broke down into a large pile of wet sand. In the middle, the body of Gaara.

The frog reappeared on Naruto's shoulder, whispering something, then disappearing.

Naruto turned to his teammates, a smile and contagious laughter building in the now silent battlefield. Despite all odds, they had won.

* * *

The trip to Tanzuka-Gai has been super awkward and tense. Jiraiya hadn't really said anything about it, talking about this old teammate of his they were trying to find. The Toad Sage may not have seen Naruto's battle with Neji or Gaara, but he'd find out eventually that Naruto wasn't a toad summoner anymore. That was not something the genin wanted to confront.

So, he had instead thrown himself at mastering this supposedly powerful technique, one that the Yondaime had supposedly taken three years to master. It was quite difficult, but he'd have it by the time he left the hotel they were staying at for the night. Or his name wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!

He'd been sitting in the room considering options. He'd learn a lot from Jiraiya, no doubt, and the man had expressed interest in taking Naruto as an apprentice of sorts, as he'd called it. But Naruto was hesitant to do so. Not specifically for leaving the Toad contract and needing to explain that, but what D.3.S had offered him.

 _Unifrog jumped back to his shoulder after wounding and awakening Gaara. "The boss wants to talk as soon as you can get there."_

 _After he, Sasuke, and Sakura had been treated for their wounds and he had a night's rest, he flashed the hand seals and accepted the summons back to the Infinite Wetlands, an infinite plane of tall grass, shallow-to-medium deep water, and a constant rain, though it changed from place to place, ranging from a sporadic drizzle to torrential rainfall. He'd lucked out this time and been summoned directly to the hole that D.3.S lived in. The giant frog glanced down at him._

 _"_ _Good of you to come, summoner. I take it you are fully healed from this invasion I heard about?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, luckily Gaara didn't do too much damage, thanks to Unifrog. Where is he by the way?"_

 _"_ _He is not here at the moment, though I am glad you did not have to face sustained combat with this jinchuriki. A bijuu on the verge of being fully released is a strong opponent even for a kage._

 _Though you may see it as bias, I do not believe you would have done as well if you had still been a Toad summoner. Well done, Naruto."_

 _Naruto smiled. D.3.S had been the first person… being to acknowledge that he'd done something worthwhile who also wanted to speak with him. Kakashi-sensei had been as easy to grab a hold of like the smoke he left behind when he Body Flickered. Sasuke had disappeared to his clan's compound, and Sakura had gone to her parents to spend some time with them after the invasion. With the Old Man dead, Naruto had no one really left._

 _"_ _Thanks D.3.S. What did you want to talk about?"_

 _"_ _To extend my offer further."_

 _"_ _Huh? What offer? You never made another one."_

 _"_ _True. I feared, initially, that you would leave us, perhaps at the behest of the Toad Sage. I did not want to disseminate more information about us than absolutely necessary. The Toads cannot scry this location, buy they could find us if you went back to them."_

 _At this, D.3.S took a deep breath._

 _"_ _So, I wish to extend my previous offer. Now, you can fully study with us, learning more of our techniques, fighting styles, histories, and philosophies."_

Naruto had told him he'd think about it, but he had to admit the offer was rather tempting. Kakashi-sensei had told them the value of teamwork. Wouldn't it look that much better if he had summons that focused on it when he became Hokage?

Damn these choices, they were both really good! Maybe he should just mention it to Jiraiya, ask for his input?

A knock at the door roused him from his thoughts. He rose up and opened the door, thinking it was Jiraiya. Only he wasn't greeted by the Toad Sage's white mane, but a shorter man, staring at him with red, swirling eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You will come with us."

* * *

Naruto grimaced as he made his way to the Hokage tower. He knew this conversation would happen eventually, but events had conspired to postpone it until now. Tsunade-Baa-chan's challenge, Orochimaru and Kabuto's attempt to have her heal the Snake Bastard's arms, THAT DAMNED MISSION TO STOP SASUKE FROM DEFECTING. It felt like failure. He'd lost Jiji, now he'd lost his rival, and his other teammate and sensei were too busy to talk. Naruto's life was changing too fast, and not for the better.

Naruto stopped, having realized he had made it to the Hokage's office door. He could hear Baa-chan speaking with somebody. He was about to knock, but a voice inside yelled, "Get in here, brat!"

Naruto stepped inside. Both Baa-chan and Jiraiya were there. She gestured for Naruto to take a seat.

"I told you Jiraiya, it's up to him." Here she waved her hand in his direction. So, they were discussing his future.

"That's fine, hime. I just want to hear him out." Jiraiya turned to Naruto now. "So, kid. Wanna tell me why the Toads say you haven't been a summoner for more than two months now?"

"I…I found another contract."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. "That's what I thought. Not to worry. You can just sign back onto the Toad contract, it'll get rid of this other one."

Naruto took a deep breath. "No thank you."

The sage blinked. "What? Why don't you want to switch back? No contract can force you to stay if you don't want to."

Now his expression was tired. "Dammit, kid. I knew you wanted to get stronger, but switching isn't worth it. The Toads are amongst the best summons for getting stronger, you just need to be patient."

"That's not why, Ero-Sennin. I think these summons will be better for me. They're more my style."

Jiraiya took a step closer, the flash of anger gone as fast as it arrived. "And you didn't think to ask me, your sensei, before you did something like this?"

Naruto considered, briefly, getting angry. Yelling at Jiraiya for throwing him off a cliff, and then not checking on him for the rest of the month. But he quashed this thought. Jiraiya hadn't acted out of malice or stubbornness, only doing what he had thought best for Naruto to succeed at summoning. In the end, he retorted, eyes cast downward, "I considered it, but I learned something that changed my mind."

"What's that?"

"The Toads. They're powerful, like you said. But it would have taken me a long time to actually learn how summon the right one for any situation, improve my chakra control to the point that I could do it fast in combat, and then learn how to fight alongside the summon. Two years, at a minimum. More than four if I wanted to be good at it."

Here he looked up, returning Jiraiya's gaze. "But the Toads actively helped me get better. The boss helped me get better at summoning, and didn't just throw me in the deep end. He introduced me to the summons he was willing to let me use in my trial period, and took an active interest in my training."

"It paid off. I don't think I would have been able to use summoning that well against Neji or Gaara if I stuck with Toads. Instead, I not only beat Neji, I humiliated him. He was some big-shot rookie, who was supposed to win. Everybody thought that. And you know what? I beat with without taking any real blows, just losing lots of clones. Imagine what I could do if I trained for a whole year."

Jiraiya shook his head. "I'm proud of you for having beaten the Hyuga and jinchuriki-"

"Gaara. His name is Gaara."

"…Right. Hyuga and Gaara, but you need to switch back, Naruto. That's where your true potential will come out."

Naruto was about to protest, but Tsunade beat him to it. "Enough Jiraiya. He's not going to switch." She sipped her sake. "Besides, it's not like this really changes anything. There's no mention of what summon he needs to have, if he's who you think he is. Unless you lied to me?" She cocked an eyebrow.

Jiraiya paled for a moment, shaking his hands in denial. "No hime, but-"

"Then it doesn't matter does it?"

Jiraiya looked like he wanted to respond, but he just sighed and turned back to Naruto. "Alright kid, fine. You can keep your summons. You wanna switch, you come talk to me. Ok? Now, what summons did you get?"

Naruto hesitated, stammering, "I-I-I don't think that's really important."

That was the wrong response. "Now I really want to see what you got. Go ahead, kid."

Anyone would think Naruto had just been asked to torture a small child, given the face he pulled. He flashed through the hand signs, and called the chakra forward. A puff of smoke, and Des Frog appeared, facing Jiraiya.

Naruto didn't want to do it, but he couldn't resist looking at Jiraiya's face. The shock etched into it was certainly something to remember, if Naruto didn't fear the response.

Tsunade chuckled. "Well. How about that."

* * *

In the end, Jiraiya and Naruto came to a deal; Naruto would go with Jiraiya for the next three years, splitting his time between his human sensei and the Frogs. And so, begins a cliché timeskip for making our protagonist stronger.

Some highlights:

Day 18

 _"_ _How the hell were you doing techniques when your hand seals are so wrong?"_

Day 76

 _"…_ _These exploding seals are so poorly drawn that-NO BRAT DON'T USE IT!"_

Day 77

 _"…_ _New rule: Never use any seal without my approval."_

 _"_ _How's that any different than the old rule?"_

 _"_ _Because if you break it this time, I'll place a seal on you that makes ramen taste like literal crap."_

Day 145

 _"_ _No, summoner, you don't have to eat insects if you stay for dinner."_

Day 1000

 _"_ _Today's a little different. An impromptu Chunin exam. Pass and I'll promote you."_

Day 1001

 _"_ _Kid, you've come a long way under myself and your frogs, so I guess it's time. Technically, sensei wanted to tell you when you officially made Chunin, but Tsunade-hime left it up to me. It's about your parents…"_

* * *

 _Three years later…_

Chunin Haruno Sakura stared at the pouch. High quality and meant for shinobi, it had a small storage seal inside, large enough for one scroll. Definitely helpful for infiltration. The only problem was that it was worth a month of extra shifts at the hospital.

Damn. It was so pretty too! Something to take to one of Ino's parties. Or a mission to the Land of Wind.

"Chunin Haruno."

She smiled without turning. "ANBU Horse."

"The Hokage is requesting your presence immediately."

"Understood. Let's go."

Leaving the pouch for another day of window shopping, Sakura hurried after Horse, Body Flickering her way to sensei's tower. The secretary waved her in, allowing her to bypass the normal check-in process.

Sakura entered the room to see others already there. Kakashi-sensei, back from the mission in Lightning, Shizune, who had apparently taken a break in her daily shifts at the hospital to come here, and Jiraiya of the Sannin, back to give a report. The last person in the room, a young blond with their back turned to her, wearing a sangria shirt and pant combination, with purple forearm braces, heavy boots, and a scarf. They turned as she entered, eyes widening as he (and it was most definitely a male body) rushed forward and hugged her. That action was the only reason she was suppressing her instinct to punch his guts out. But who was this strange boy who knew her?

"Sakura-chan! I've missed you!"

She froze, watching as he lowered his scarf, showing the rest of his face. Then she smiled, and pulled him back into a hug.

"I've missed you too, Naruto."

Her sensei cleared her throat, somehow silencing the room despite doing it quite softly.

"If you two are done…?"

"Sorry, shisou." She broke the hug, both Team Seven member's turning back to the Hokage.

"I called you all here for a mission. I don't like doing it so soon after you've come back, brat, but I think you'd go anyway once you heard about it." She sighed.

"Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, has been kidnapped."

* * *

Naruto stood beside Kakashi, staring down the man who block their rescue. He growled, remembering how Itachi has attempted to kidnap him, then proceed to use a crazy powerful genjutsu on Sasuke. After he'd already done it to Kakashi-sensei.

"I cannot let you pass."

Fuck that. He wasn't going to let the Bastard's brother stop him from saving his friend!

"Multiple Shadow Clone technique!"

Naruto's real chakra reserve had grown substantially in the last three years. Like all shinobi, his chakra reserves were set to grow during puberty. Having the Nine-tailed Fox in him along with his Uzumaki heritage just meant he got way more chakra percentage wise than almost any other shinobi.

That chakra would have been meaningless, however, if Naruto hadn't obtained a sufficient level of chakra control to use it in heavy combat. The Frogs had set him up doing various trainings in their techniques, mostly overriding his control with their own, slowly releasing that control as he improved. This had the benefit of improving his control by giving him some experience with molding chakra in various ways, and how to move it based on how viscous his chakra felt. It also meant that he could practice the techniques they taught. Two frogs appeared, Ronintoadin and Substitoad. As he felt his right, Substitoad would appear on Naruto's head, having claimed it was his "throne", while Ronintoadin stood at attention at Naruto's height, back straight and right hand on his katana. Oh, and 150 shadow clones to go along with it.

"Your orders, summoner?"

Naruto smiled, then turned to Kakashi. "Can you hold him off for say…two minutes?"

Kakashi pulled his SS-ranked eye-smile. "Of course I can. Who do you think you're talking to?" Uncovering his sharingan, Kakashi took off, pulling out a pair of kunai and throwing them. Itachi didn't bother dodging, just throwing two shuriken to counter the projectiles. But now, Kakashi was right on top of him, aiming a kick at Itachi's head. This devolved into bouts of melee combat, followed by a breaking off and both spouting some elemental release, then going hand to hand again.

Naruto watched all this from the corner of his eye. He'd like to ignore it completely, but he'd had enough training to know this was a bad idea, no matter how good Kakashi-sensei was. And by training, he meant lots of kunai hitting him until he learned to pay attention to multiple things at once. His hands were flying through seals, for one of the few techniques he knew that required 100 hand seals or more. In this case, 111 specifically. He couldn't do this alone, however. That's why three of his clones were controlling parts of the chakra for this technique.

If he had any less training, he might have reacted when Kakashi reappeared beside him, singed and cut in various places, covering up his sharingan again.

"I hope your plan is good, because I don't think I can hold him off much longer."

Naruto looked up, and Itachi was indeed rushing towards them. He didn't need to do anything yet, his remaining clones rushing the mad Uchiha in a futile attempt to stop him. He was slowed only momentarily, slicing and burning the clones in his way. Naruto grimaced at the phantom pain, but it didn't matter. His technique was complete.

Kakashi looked down at the glowing form that was growing more solid and gaining some color. As the chakra settled, he stared at Naruto's latest summon. A pink pair of frogs, a small one resting on larger one, with an apple on the small one's head. Ronintoadin and Substitoad were transformed into glowing balls of light the size of a fist, and revolved around the apple- _oh god the pain._

Itachi's fist retracted after his punishing blow to the jounin's stomach, already moving towards the last of the clones. Dealing with them quickly, he turned towards the jinchuriki, only to see a punch aimed at his chest. He blocked it, only to find he couldn't retract his fist. As his movement stalled and he attempted to dislodge the hand clutching his arm, he couldn't dodge the incredibly slow (for him) kick.

He sure felt the power though. ANBU all learned how to roll with a blow, mitigating the force, but even twisting his body slightly didn't do much for him. Naruto released him at the last moment, and Itachi flew backwards, feeling his ribs break. Not that it showed, of course. He was as composed as ever, even as he did a backflip to aright himself.

Realizing that this was taking too long, Itachi prepared a ninja technique, his sharing n's tomoe spinning faster and faster to hypnotize Naruto while his hands blurred through a fire release technique. And that was when it all went wrong.

Naruto yelled something at the odd looking summon, and one of the orbital lights winked out. A new frog appeared, this one blue and wearing a strange black hat with a red tassel. Yet it stayed for a moment before Uzumaki flooded the pink summons with chakra. That one's tongue lashed out incredibly fast, swallowing the other summon. Its eyes started glowing, looking directly at Itachi.

Naruto had fed more than enough chakra for Toadally Awesome to negate the fire ball Itachi was preparing. So much more, that Toadally's dispersion technique, which would not only negate the technique but vent the chakra used by the enemy to prevent them from reclaiming it right away, affected a previous technique on Itachi. Specifically, the one binding his chakra to that dead body. So as the Uchiha sucked in a huge breath to breath out fire, the technique suddenly fizzled. All the chakra left Itachi's lungs, preventing him from casting it. Then the rest of his chakra dissipated, causing smoke to rise from his body.

Naruto watched as Itachi swayed, coughing heavily, then collapsed face first. He ran over to check on Itachi, turning over the body when he realized that he was truly dead. Only the face that stared back wasn't the S-rank feared by even other S-ranks. It was some unknown shinobi.

Kakashi had finally recovered from the blow to his stomach, and joined Naruto at the decayed body. How this had been done was unknown to him, but it wasn't important right now. He sealed the body in a scroll, then beckoned Naruto forward.

"Come on. We need to go."

* * *

Naruto stared at the downed Akatsuki-nin. Kakuzu, was it? It didn't matter now, the man was well and truly dead, all his hearts destroyed, the last by Naruto's new Rasenshuriken. He was about to turn and join Kakashi-sensei and Team Asuma, but he remembered a lesson that had been beaten into him about dealing with corpses. Specifically, they needed to be dealt with after death. If the corpse was to be retrieved, place it in a body scroll, appropriately marked so no one opened it thinking it was supplies. If not, then set the body on fire.

This had several benefits. It denied enemies a chance at whatever the deceased may have been carrying, reduced disease transmission from rotting flesh, and hastened the soul's travel to the pure lands, when it otherwise might have lingered after death. The frogs were oddly spiritual; they didn't mind "dying" as a summon might, nor did they take offense for being used as meat shields, just believing that they would return when necessary. This translated into a rather cavalier attitude towards death. The frogs didn't want Naruto to kill unnecessarily or for pleasure, but if he had to kill, they would shrug and move on.

He flashed a single seal, and set the body of Kakuzu on fire, continuing his fire output until only ash remained. With that, he headed over to the survivors.

When he got close enough to hear the sobs, he paused. It was Shikamaru, holding Jiji's son Asuma, his sensei. He was bleeding from his mouth, long enough for it to have dried up, caking his jaw and neck with blood. Ino was crying into Chouji's shoulder, and Kakashi-sensei looked weary, having lost another comrade.

"How much time has passed since his death?"

"What?"

"His death. How long has it been?"

"Maybe…15 minutes? Naruto, why are you asking?"

Naruto grimaced. It was against his principles to not prevent death if possible, but he remembered listening to the eccentric toad that lectured him on what it could do. But was it worth the cost?

He clenched his fists. "Fuck it. I'll bring him back."

Shikamaru didn't get a chance to ask what he meant, as Naruto summoned a frog, this one not seen by anyone yet. Banana yellow for the most part, with red markings all over the body of this tiny animal. Naruto had summoned it onto his palm, and now stared it in the eyes.

"I'm willing to pay."

The frog nodded. Kakashi saw its eyes glow, and Naruto began feeding it chakra for its unique power. Only this time was different.

After 30 seconds of absorbing Naruto's dense chakra, it turned and jumped down, right onto Asuma's increasingly pale head. Shikamaru had enough sense to not bat this frog off his deceased sensei for disrespect, since Naruto wouldn't do something if he didn't think this would pay off.

The frog placed its front pads on Asuma's closed eyes. Then, its own eyes started glowing, and Shikamaru, with his average sensory training under his clan, could feel chakra flowing into various parts of Asuma-sensei's body. As the frog extended Naruto's chakra into Asuma's chakra gates, Shikamaru felt the impossible. His sensei's chakra started moving again, slowly, but picking up speed decently fast.

The technique was almost over, as the frog's eyes dimmed, losing that brilliant, blinding blue-white that characterized Naruto's chakra. When its bar-shaped pupils reappeared, it jumped back to Naruto's shoulder, whispered in his ear, then disappeared in smoke.

Chouji was the first to break the silence. "Naruto, what did you do?" But the answer was lost to the impossible sound Shikamaru heard.

"Urghhh."

The three chunin of Team Ten and Kakashi turned towards Asuma's body. Asuma's eyes, specifically. Asuma's _moving_ eyes. His chest was also expanding and contracting again, despite his previous death.

Asuma blinked a few times, tried getting up, then promptly gave up as pain exploded all over his body. He rasped, "What happened? I" cough" remember dying."

Shikamaru's smile trembled, his cheeks showing streaks of joyful tears. "You, you came back, Asuma-sensei."

Asuma had closed his eyes, however, and it was only Ino's basic medic-nin training that prevented her from crying, declaring that he was just tired and sleeping.

Moving him as gently as they could, they managed to set up shelter for the night, to recuperate for the journey back. At night, as they sat beside the fire (which was allowed in this case; no one was around, Kakashi-sensei's dogs confirmed), Shikamaru decided to ask what everyone wanted to.

"Naruto. That technique you used. Could you tell us about it?"

At this, Naruto froze. He didn't regret his actions, but he was hesitant to reveal what the frogs had told him regarding their techniques.

"Maa, Naruto. Calm down, no one here will say anything other than to Lady Tsunade."

His hesitation must have shown. Damn, that would be more training in controlling his body language with the frogs.

"That technique you saw was one that I haven't used before. Swap Frog told me about it during my trip with Jiraiya-sensei. If someone isn't dead for more than one hour, I can bring their soul back to their body, basically bring them back from the dead. Of course, if Asuma-sensei's body had serious wounds or cuts, then he might have died anyways from blood loss or infection later. We were lucky this time, he died from a purely spiritual technique, one that basically cut his soul open."

The Nara clan's genetic disposition to not reacting enthusiastically to anything stopped Shikamaru from widening his eyes and displaying a gaping mouth, like Ino and Chouji were doing right now.

"Interesting, but what's the cost associated with this technique? You didn't give that frog much chakra, and if that technique was truly a low chakra way to resurrect the recently dead, the frogs would already be renowned."

Naruto smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I don't ever get that chakra back."

"What?" How exactly was it gone, he could just rest and get it back!

"Yeah. In exchange for saving Asuma-sensei, I had to permanently give up a fifth of my chakra. The max I could ever have is 80 percent."

Shikamaru choked. A technique that would have harmed any ninja's potential, forcing them to divest precious chakra, and Naruto decided to do it anyways? Why?

"Because he was your precious person. Why wouldn't I do that?" Naruto stated with a smile.

The next day, the group made their way through the giant gates of Konoha. After reporting to Tsunade (who after listening quite intently to Naruto explain his technique, hit him on the head, making him swear never to use it without her permission, then rushing off to see to Asuma as a case study), Shikamaru, with his teammates watching, pulled Naruto into a hug, tears flowing down his face as he mumbled "Thank you, thank you." Naruto was shocked for a moment, before comforting Shikamaru.

Naruto would never forget the moment when Ino and Chouji joined the hug on his sides. Or when they invited him to a dinner at Ino's house to celebrate tomorrow night.

This, he would tell himself, is what it meant to have friends.

* * *

Naruto cursed. The group had made it back to Konoha after meeting Itachi, when Sasuke- _so close, he was so close_ \- had shown up. Itachi had retreated, after snaring Naruto in his illusion.

And now this! Jiraiya, his Jiraiya-sensei was dead, having been killed in Rain. Why? Why did the people he loved keep leaving him?

Naruto would have cried right then and there, had he not taken to solving the code left on Fukasaku's back. He had gone to Shikamaru, who immediately helped him decode it. Several hours later, they had figured out the message.

 _The real one isn't one of them._

But what did it mean? Their best guess was that the real leader Akatsuki wasn't amongst the ten members they knew about, but Naruto guessed that was too simple. There was something they didn't know, something only Jiraiya-sensei - _who was gone, dammit why_ \- knew.

He was deep in thought (and wasn't that scary for people, they thought he was about to pull a big prank) when Fukasaku appeared before him. He turned his head towards him.

The toad stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Hello, Naruto. I hear you have solved the cypher."

"Yeah, but it doesn't make any sense. What 'real one' is it referring to?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, but in any case, I wish to make you an offer. Despite you… ending our contract so abruptly, there is one thing we wish to teach you. How to become a sage."

"What's that?"

"I cannot explain it outside of our home, but believe me when I say that that it is one of the most powerful tools in the world, easily capable of surpassing many bloodline limits. It has the benefit of being teachable to anyone with large amounts of chakra and chakra control. It is what made Jiraiya famous, you know. Konoha's Toad Sage, who killed three A-ranked Rock shinobi in less than 20 seconds with this power."

Naruto had thankfully developed the instincts to not turn into a gaping fish when surprised. "Why? I'm…I'm not a toad summoner anymore."

"True, but you forget something. You were Jiraiya's student. You have his personality in many ways. Despite your losses, you remain happy, content to strive forward and not let others determine what you can do. In addition, you have high morals, ones that you don't abandon, which is more than can be said about many other shinobi. There is a saying; 'The worth of any being is not how they act towards their allies, but towards their enemies.'"

The toad took a breath, then continued. "Lastly, Jiraiya made a request with us to offer it to you regardless of whether you signed back on with us or not. And I won't break an agreement with the greatest summoner we ever had."

Seeing as how Naruto had no response, Fukasaku had one more statement. "I won't ask you to come with us right away, but I will need a response by say, 11 AM tomorrow. Will that suffice? Good. I will come back then. Take care."

The toad disappearing in a cloud of smoke shook Naruto out of his shock. He…he needed to discuss this with D.3.S.

* * *

"So, the toads have made their play, have they?"

He had told the master frog what Fukasaku had offered him. Sage mode, the power that could multiply any shinobi's power by at least a factor of three. Jiraiya had been a toad sage, and that was what catapulted him from being an average A-rank to high S-rank.

"What do you know about Sage mode, summoner?"

Naruto shook his head. Nothing.

"Very well." Naruto prepared himself for one of D.3.S lectures, made clear by the massive amount of air he breathed in."

"Sages commune with nature; this is something most people hear when learning of the power a sage wields. More specifically, sages use a source of energy not touched by others, nature energy. They balance this energy with their own chakra, and can then use this new nature-yin-yang balance to do a variety of things."

"Firstly, it provides a general boost to all ninja techniques. Techniques are stronger and faster as well. This is because everything around us has nature energy in it. Most techniques interact with it frictionally. There is a cost to move through nature energy, and it results in chakra that could be powering your technique instead being lost to move nature energy out of the way. When using nature energy, your techniques are a part of nature itself, meaning no loss in chakra or speed for your technique."

"But every element grows stronger in its own ways as well. Fire burns hotter and more efficiently. Water moves far faster and harder than possible for the same amount of chakra. Earth grows tougher, harder to break. Lightning strikes even stronger and faster, sending more charge through targets. Wind blows harder, and cuts through even the hardest materials. Your Rasenshuriken is extremely powerful, easily an S-rank technique. But I can confidently say that it does not compare in any way to what a nature powered one could do. For that matter, you father was not SS-ranked until he became a sage as well"

Naruto was shocked. He knew it would be powerful, why else would Jiraiya have been known for using it, but this? This was truly beyond anything he could believe.

"Another benefit to Sage mode is that it enhances all your senses. Sages can see, hear, and even touch things farther than anyone could do normally. More importantly, sages can sense everything around them through the field of nature energy around them, which is superior to every other method of sensing."

"Do you recall what I said three years ago, about how long it would take to fully utilize the power of the toads? This is why. Toad summoners, after many years of practice, use Sage mode, powerful nature-empowered techniques and awareness, and combination techniques with the toads. Jiraiya earned his S-rank more than anyone else in this world, given how he started with nothing and trained for years without the benefits of having a shinobi family or bloodline limit."

Naruto considered this, then clenched his fists. "D.3.S, I-I…"

"You wish to accept the offer, but you feel that your loyalty is in question if you accept. Stuck between us and the toads."

Naruto nodded, unwilling to look above the giant frog's toes.

"That is perfectly acceptable, summoner. I recommend you accept their training."

"But-but! Why? I…Shouldn't you, I dunno, not want to me to take it?"

"Look at it this way. They offered to train you in a specific technique. They didn't make it contingent on you signing back onto their contract. We would need to have a different discussion if that was the case."

The frog sighed, moving his body into a slightly more comfortable position. "I want you to be as strong as you can be. Training in Sage mode will help with that."

Here the frog narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Another benefit is that you will be able summon the more unorthodox entities of our contract."

* * *

"That is all the time we have at the moment, brat. Pein has attacked your village. The Hokage is hurt."

To his credit (and his fear of being smacked for the millionth time), Naruto didn't immediately respond, instead adding that information as something new to consider. Priority consideration of course.

He slowly rose, then bowed to the two frog elders, Fukasaku and Shima. "Thank you for training me in Sage mode. I know you did it because Jiraiya asked you to, but I appreciate you training a contract-breaker like myself."

Fukasaku smacked him in the head with that damned stick of his. "Brat. Weren't you listening to me these past few days? We think you're worth it, and we don't care about the rest."

"Now then, you've made it to basic Sage mode. I'd offer you more training, but our traditions say we can't teach you more than what we have. Even this was unorthodox for us, something I had to argue for. I think it's worth it, however."

"We do, however, need to decide what to do with you. We could drop you back off at Konoha, if you'd like? By yourself, of course, we can't offer any toads as support for the same reason."

Naruto considered it, remembering what D.3.S had told him to do after his training reached the first step. "No thank you, could you drop me, say, one kilometer away from the main gates?"

"Ah, good. You've made it back, summoner. I take it you can now enter Sage mode?"

He nodded.

"Excellent. I'm sure you've heard of this attack taking place by the leader of Red Dawn? It complicates our training plans."

Naruto frowned, baring his teeth. "We don't have time for more training! He's attacking Konoha, D.3.S!"

The frog growled at him. "Do not take me for a fool, summoner. I am aware that this is the zero hour, with no options left. I would not speak of more training if I did not have a reason behind you learning this technique and a way for you to practice it fast. Now, jump on my back, and hold on."

Naruto obeyed, deciding to see where this went. D.3.S hadn't lied thus far, why would he lie now?

The giant frog crouched, and Naruto could _see_ the chakra flowing into his muscles, joints, tendons, etc. Muscles tensed, then exploded upwards, and they were _flying_.

In a time that seemed both infinite and short, they landed in some other part of the Infinite Wetlands. This part was different, having a giant temple that reached as high as Hokage mountain. They had jumped straight on top of it, arriving at a large platform that had exactly one opening on the side.

"Follow me, we have little time." With that the frog went through the opening, with Naruto quickly behind him.

They walked in darkness for a few minutes, when Naruto saw it. A light at the end of the tunnel. It got brighter as they got closer, but he still couldn't make out what was on the other side.

They were within meters, and now Naruto could see that there was nothing on the other side. Nothing, just pure white, thick clouds. Or maybe it was one giant cloud.

He stepped inside, and looked around. More dense cloud, stable as hard ground. There was no sun, but a bright light that appeared everywhere. He turned around, only to see a black gash in …reality? That seemed to be the only description that fit.

"Are you done staring?"

He turned back to D.3.S, having the decency to look ashamed when they were on a time critical mission.

"This room is known to us as the Room of Spirit and Time. Our creator granted us this room to train in. In here, one year may pass, but only one day on the outside. We will not spend that much time here, only one day, but that will mean you spend three minutes in real time."

"Now, we have little time for any irrelevant questions. Perform the following hand seals…"

* * *

Uzumaki Nagato was not a patient man. His only memory of his mother involved getting scolded for not waiting for pastries she was making to cool. That was not a habit he'd divorced of himself, despite all of Konan's warnings. Hell, he'd even taken far more casualties than necessary attacking Hanzo's last fortress before all his forces were in position.

Combined with the Sage of Six Path's own mystical eyes, it was safe to say that when Nagato got impatient, people died in droves.

Right now, he was feeling that way again. He was currently fighting Tsunade, who demonstrated again and again why any of the third Hokage's genin team were not to be dismissed in their age. She'd forced him to actually pause in combat, reevaluating his strategies.

Not that it mattered too much. He'd already destroyed most of the village with his All-Mighty push technique, and Tsunade was breathing far too heavily to fight much longer, though no doubt she'd fight till the bitter end.

Sigh. None of this need happen, they only needed to bring him the jinchuriki. Summon him back from the Toads, was that so hard?

His Human Path approached the woman, hoping to read her mind to see if he could simply summon the vessel back himself.

* * *

Naruto sped back along the path at full speed, not yet in Sage mode, but close. He intended to wait until the last moment to use it, striking at his opponent's weak point to do irreparable damage. Just like a frog's tongue targeted an insect's head. Luckily the frogs had told him which body to target.

He was close. Entering Sage mode, his pupils mutating into frog pupils, he charged chakra into his legs. This would hurt his knees for the next month if he did it wrong.

With all the chakra he needed, he first created a shadow clone, then formed two Rasengans, morphed them into Rasenshurikens, and jumped.

"This is your last chance. Summon Uzumaki Naruto here, or I will kill every shinobi- " The Deva Path, which had been threatening to kill Tsunade, was smashed to the ground as a 15-year old blond jinchuriki slammed a nature enhanced Rasenshuriken into its head. A moment later, the Naraka Path, the one that regenerated the other damaged bodies was destroyed as well, taking a similar thrown spinning ball of death to the back of the head. The other paths merely raised their guards, watching the newest combatant.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You have finally come to die", stated tonelessly by the Animal Path.

Naruto stood up straight, arms crossed and an indifferent face, as if he was talking to some upstart genin.

"Nah, just came to see the asshole who was trying to kill Baa-chan and destroy Konoha."

"Regardless, you will come with us. Submit, and your friends will live."

Naruto considered this, exaggerating a look of pondering, then shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll just destroy you."

"Very well, then. You brought this upon yourself."

Naruto stared, then started snickering. This turned to full blown laughter, the only sound heard for a good thirty seconds. Naruto wiped a tear from his eye.

"You know, I'd heard the Rinnengan lets you see chakra. Is that true?"

"…Indeed."

"I guess it didn't make you smarter. Look behind you."

To Pein's credit, only the Animal Path turned, the rest still focused on Naruto. It found something odd.

A shadow clone performing fast hand seals. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop it, the final seals and name called out.

"Trap technique: Gravity Bind!"

Naruto's clone, made from before he jumped into Konoha, had snuck into the village on foot, hiding close by while he observed the original take down the two most dangerous Paths. That was the signal to start the technique, which would slow down people designated as enemies. If it was activated with a general sense of who the enemies were (for example, anyone attacking me), it would slow them down considerably. However, if you marked your targets visually, as it had done now, the technique was much stronger, holding the marks in place without any chance of movement, regardless of what they did. Only the initiator could break the technique, but it took time to do it. In addition, the caster had to stay still while using it.

None of that mattered now, since all four Paths were now stuck where they were, unable to move their bodies or chakra.

Naruto walked over, waving his hand in front of the Paths.

"Hello? Anyone in there? Nah, I guess not." Then he realized something odd.

None of the Paths were alive, confirmed by the lack of chest movement and no quiet breathing. He also couldn't hear their heartbeat. How-?

Ah. He smiled when he realized what Jiraiya had been trying to say.

 _The real Pein isn't here, he's remotely controlling them._

He closed his eyes, and muted his senses save one. He felt outwards, tracking the chakra being transferred from far away, a thin string his only guide. He could feel the two chakras inside. Pein and another Akatsuki member.

He smiled, then spoke to the Path closest to him.

"I'm coming for you, asshole. You don't walk away today."

Charging chakra back into his legs, he leapt into the sky, leaving behind his shocked comrades.

"Well, I didn't think the brat had it in him." That was Tsunade.

The rest of the shinobi were roused from their awe, turning angrily back to the frozen bodies of Pein. The clone spoke out to them.

"Can you guys help dismember them? I can't hold this all day."

Their vengeful hearts were all too easy to accept.

* * *

Naruto paused at the entrance to Pein's temporary lair. It was situated in the tallest tree with line of sight to Konoha, and a door had been hastily set into the opening.

Well, no time like the present. He walked through, the door closing behind him.

The inside was large, no doubt hollowed out for the giant machine sitting in the middle. And in it, Pein himself. Standing on the side was a blue haired woman, with a flower in her hair and a bottom lip piercing like a bead.

Pein himself was…underwhelming. This was the man who destroyed his home? A spindly, almost skeletal man, who needed machine support to live? Even his hair was faded, and he was visibly breathing.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Jiraiya-sensei's last pupil. Jinchuriki of the Nine-tails. Are you here to kill me?"

"…No." He frowned, was Pein suicidal?

"Oh? Did you not promise my Path that I would get my comeuppance? So quick to break your promises?"

"No. I've actually got a question for you."

"And what is it?"

"…Why? Why are you trying to take the tailed beasts?"

"Simple. I desire peace. And as the reincarnation of the Sage himself, I am heir to his legacy. I will bring peace to this world."

"…Seriously? What exactly makes you his reincarnation?"

"I have his legendary eyes, which alone made me as powerful as I am. No other shinobi in existence, not even the First Hokage, can claim they had a technique to physically destroy a village."

"So? How do you know having his eyes makes you his second coming? The Sage gave us chakra, and from there we got all our techniques and bloodlines. How do you know you weren't just lucky enough to get it?"

"While that is a possibility, history makes it unlikely. The Sage did not distribute power randomly. His own descendants were marked physically and spiritually to have more, to rule over others. Those three clans were the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki. They have always been the strongest shinobi in existence, always shaping this world. It only makes sense that an heir to his legacy would come from them. I am Uzumaki, so I qualify."

Naruto grimaced. "I can buy that we're distantly related, you have enough chakra for it. But that still doesn't prove anything. Doujutsu are hereditary. Who's to say you didn't just randomly trigger something in all of our blood that gave it to you."

"I told you already. The nature of this world means that anything of meaning is highly symbolic. The Uzumaki invented an entirely new branch of chakra use, Fuinjutsu. The Senju created the Hidden Village system, the first being Konoha. The Uchiha were powerful enough to have a new word created for their strongest defector; missing-nin."

He paused. "Almost everyone of power in this world is at least tangentially related to them, blood or not. For example, let me tell you the Akatsuki's members."

"Sasori, the puppeteer, was strong enough to kill the third Kazekage, and even use his powers when puppeting him. Sasori's red hair came from his mother, an Uzumaki. His partner Deidara, who possessed the Explosion release bloodline limit, was descended from a clan founded by a rogue Senju who initially had it."

"Kisame, strongest of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, wields Samehada, a blade created in a contract with the Uzumaki, giving him a living sword that continues to empower him. His former partner Itachi was Uchiha, as you obviously know. The strongest in several generations, S-rank before he reached puberty."

"Hidan, who is immortal and wielded the scythe you saw him with, was not always that way. He went insane from a malfunctioning seal combined with a failed Senju technique affecting him simultaneously. Now he believes that the voice in his head is a god. His deceased partner Kakuzu wielded the Jiongnu, which he stole one hundred years ago from his village. That item was created by the Uchiha and Uzumaki working together."

"Orochimaru was actually taught by the Uzumaki and Senju, refining his ninjutsu and fuinjutsu knowledge to the point where he was until Uchiha Sasuke destroyed his body. As for Tobi, well, I think I'll keep that knowledge for myself. I know he will enjoy telling you himself. "

"Of course, this isn't always true. The fourth Hokage was one example of a shinobi who rose to power on his own work, not a relation to the privileged. Jiraiya-sensei was another. Konan, who alongside myself learned under Jiraiya-sensei, developed her techniques with her own intelligence."

"But such shinobi are almost always noted primarily because they buck the idea that one needs powerful blood to be famous."

Here he coughed violently, almost falling out of his machine. This must have been a regular event, as Konan didn't seem surprised.

Naruto had been listening all this time in rapt attention. It was interesting to learn some tidbits of history, seeing connections across time.

In another timeline, he would have just yelled about how he would fix everything when he became Hokage.

Here, he had better argumentation skills. D.3.S had helped him build on that Chunin exam saying about heaven and earth. Building his mind with what the older frog referred to as critical thinking skills.

"That's all well and true, but you've forgotten something important."

" _Wheeze_ -And what is that, container?"

"All those clans are dead or dying. You and I are the last Uzumaki, Sasuke and Itachi are the last Uchiha, and Baa-chan is the last Senju. All the royalty is dying off, but you know what? _The villages remain just as strong_. Every village has had at least one leader who isn't connected to the three clans. Kumo's third and fourth Raikages aren't any of those. And the Tsuchikage learned his most powerful technique from his own teacher, which was created by that man."

There were muted shouts from the other side of the door. Naruto grimaced, he thought he had more time before his fellow shinobi found him.

"Your eye powers are gone, your body's a wreck, and you couldn't destroy Konoha fully. You couldn't even beat me. I'd say that makes you not nearly as important as you think you are. And you know what? I'm gonna make a prediction. My generation is going to be revolutionary. We'll shape this world with our powers, free of the notion that some shinobi are inherently better than others because of their blood, and make it better than anything people like you could ever imagine. We won't need tailed beasts or anything like that. You never had the power or character to do it. And we'll make it work by working together, not scheming against each other like the village do now. It'll take time. It'll take effort. It'll take sacrifice. But it will be worth it. For peace."

Pein had been silent this whole time. After Naruto's little speech ended, the ruler of Ame closed his eyes and smirked.

"Peace, huh? Fine. I won't interfere any further, fool. My involvement means nothing now. Konan."

She nodded, then pressed a button on the side. And with that, both Angel and Ruler of Ame disappeared back into their depressing little village.

Naruto sighed. D.3.S talked about moments like this. Turning points in history, where decisions would shape the future immensely. Oh well, he'd made his decision. Now he had to live with the consequences.

With that, he opened the doors of the chamber, facing his friends and allies. Now began the rebuilding.

* * *

"Uzumaki-san? I'm to inform you that Danzo-sama wants to meet with you. You have a five-minute break before you need to see him."

It had been one week since Pein's attack. Rebuilding had been quicker than he thought, the temporary Hokage had let Captain Yamato create buildings with his Wood release, turning two months of work into two hours per dwelling. Along with creating safer buildings, he spaced them apart a bit as well, since several decades of older development meant most streets would easily spread even the smallest of fires.

Naruto had taken over sentry duty. Hiding several clones at various ranges around Konoha, he would sit near the Hokage tower, eyes closed as he gathered chakra to maintain Sage mode, using nature to sense anything approaching.

Naruto slowly stood up. As per his instructions, he was trying to maintain Sage mode continuously. Stretching his arms and legs to shake any numbness out of his body. He'd been sitting there for eight hours, according to the clock. That was a drawback to Sage mode, you never had a good sense of time passing; everything around him was interesting enough to investigate. He was seeing a new side to everyone around him, even people like that secretary he'd known all his life. Sakura-chan, for example, was hard at work healing people, running on low chakra and four hours of sleep every day. Kakashi-sensei was helping by guarding the hospital, pretending to read that book of his on a tree outside.

Baa-chan…she was still unconscious, had been ever since the battle ended. Apparently, her special seal had been completely drained. Now she needed to fill that seal first, something to do with how she bound it to herself. Any excess chakra was supposed to go to filling that seal, giving her more chakra to work with than any Hokage, but she would lose it all if she opened it. Now, her body was only giving her the minimum chakra, everything else was filling the seal to its previous capacity, which would leave her comatose for at least a decade if left alone.

But she wasn't alone. Naruto was there. Every day he'd sit down with Sakura-chan and they'd fill her seal themselves. Naruto would send his chakra into Sakura, who would slowly convert it to mimic Baa-chan's chakra, and send it straight into the seal. The amount she could handle was increasing every day, so even the hour they could spend helping Tsunade was more and more helpful. Sakura-chan said that they had reduced her down time to a matter of months, which would only decrease as Naruto gave more chakra and Sakura handled it more efficiently.

He knocked on the door, leaving his hopes for another time.

"Enter."

He opened the door, closing it slowly behind him.

The Acting Hokage, one Shimura Danzo, stood to the window. His arm beckoned Naruto to come closer.

They stood next to each other, watching the last of the reconstruction process. The last of the bodies and rubble were being cleared and identified, and the last streets were also being rebuilt and improved. Another building popped up in the distance, and Naruto could feel Yamato's chakra.

"Your popularity has soared this week, were you aware? Civilians and shinobi are both praising you for killing the leader of Akatsuki."

"I know." It wasn't hard to hear people talking about him, considering it happened everywhere. He didn't mind praise, but he felt…something when those people had been quite happy to ignore him before. He didn't know whether he should be resigned to the short memory of the public, or angered at its fickleness. The former would suffice, for now.

"Their fickleness offends you, doesn't it?"

"No, I…"

"You need not lie to me. Regardless, I wish to congratulate you." Danzo returned to his desk, motioning the ANBU for something. A moment later, he had a vest in hand. A jounin vest.

"Kneel."

Naruto sank on his right knee, shocked that this was happening.

"Uzumaki Naruto, do you swear to uphold the rules and will of Konoha, to protect its people and domain from transgressors, to follow the Will of Fire until your death?"

"I do."

"Then in light of your accomplishments and skill, I, Shimura Danzo, Acting Hokage, do declare you a jounin of the Leaf, to be afforded the respect and responsibility that comes with the rank. Stand."

He handed the vest to Naruto, instructing him to put it on.

"People must see your new rank. They must see the trust Konoha puts in one of its finest defenders."

He quickly donned it, holding his old vest out for the ANBU to take. This new one fit snugly, he liked it already.

"Did you know that I was responsible for your status as an orphan, that there were families willing to take you immediately after you were born?"

What? WHAT?

"After the village settled down, Hiruzen called me forward, asking me to take you. He knew the truth of the matter, that the Kyuubi had been forcibly summoned out of its previous container. Whoever unleashed it would not stop at that. You would be one of our blades against the fools who dared to attack us. You needed to be strong, capable of wielding the chakra you have, a symbol of our power even as both founding clans faded."

"Hiruzen asked me to take you into Root, a black ops program I ran. He knew my success with training children, one of whom you met, the young man named Sai. Had you been taken into my program, you would be a strong assassin, eliminating high value enemy targets, jinchuriki and the like."

Danzo paused, letting Naruto comprehend his words. He leaned forward, hands held in front of his mouth.

"That would have been a criminal waste of your potential. You have the chance to become one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha's history. My program was not meant for people like you. My agents have usually have small chakra reserves and rely on weapons and infiltration training. You are the exact opposite of what I want."

"More importantly, you are a valuable asset in a way you don't recognize. You stand in the sun."

Naruto's brows furrowed. What did that mean? He wasn't that tan.

"Most of our shinobi are like the bark of a tree. They are unremarkable, possessing some small or average talent, and are only good for protecting against attackers. Others are like the ANBU and Root. They can never be acknowledged or seen in public, much like a tree's roots, keeping it upright and shields against the winds of change."

Here he pinned Naruto with his stare.

"But there are some shinobi like you, who are the fruit and flower of our tree, making it noticeable, admired by others. You stand in the public's eyes, they see you grow and feel attached to you, helping cultivate you along the way. It is people like you who stand out and make Konoha's reputation, despite anything others say. The Hokage is one of those flowers, giving an image of power. Your own teachers are amongst that group as well, living legends of Konoha. For that matter, Hatake wasn't even famous until he left ANBU, further solidifying my point."

"And it is for that reason that I also argued against giving you to any clan. Your blood is incredibly potent, since the Uzumaki tendency towards larger chakra reserves would help any clan. Not to mention your power as a political weapon, given your lineage. You would be raised with their values in mind, and likely married into their clan as well. Even now, allying yourself with a clan would increase their prestige immensely."

Naruto clenched his fists, knowing that attacking Danzo wouldn't mean anything. "And…what about other families? Did you stop them as well?"

He felt the spike of irritation in Danzo's chakra, a short ranged Sage power.

"No. That was due to Hiruzen's decision to announce your status as jinchuriki. He claimed it was what your father wanted, which I would not doubt."

Danzo stood up, now glaring at him.

"Your father, despite knowing how his wife and your mother was treated, was strong enough to afford believing in people's better nature, to afford doing what any other person would call him a fool for. You will likely be this strong as well, strong enough to retain your innocence and trust in others. Never forget that."

An ANBU came in with a scroll, kneeling by Danzo. He grabbed the scroll, breaking the seal on it.

"Dismissed, jounin Uzumaki."

* * *

"Naruto, we need to talk."

He turned around, despite Sage mode telling him everything he needed to know. You just couldn't eliminate human behavior with a new technique.

Shikamaru's chakra was in front of him, along with Chouji's and Kiba's.

"Sure thing. I'm not free now, I've got a sentry shift to finish, but we can meet after seven, if that works for you."

"That's fine, can you come to my house then?"

"Sure. I'll see you then."

Shikamaru and Chouji headed on, but Kiba stayed.

"Something you want, dog breath?"

"Heh! They made you a jounin? Didn't know they pitied you that much."

Naruto grinned. "Why don't you find out?"

"Don't get too cocky, idiot. If you can do it, I'll make jounin by this evening." With that, Kiba ran off, Akamaru following him.

It was the little things in life you had to savor.

Naruto made his way through the Nara compound gates, waving to the guards as he entered. He could feel the chakra of his other friends there. Strange, what would require the entirety of their class to be there?

"Good to see you, Naruto. The others are waiting in the living room. I've put some snacks out for you as well."

"Thank you, Yoshino-san." Shikamaru's mother was a charming woman, who adored Naruto as another son.

He left his sandals at the entrance, and joined his class mates.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. How are you?"

"I'm good, Hinata-chan! How are you?"

"I'm-I'm also good."

"Great! How're Neji and Hanabi-chan?"

"They're doing well. Hanabi trains hard every day. She and Neji have a competition to see who can defeat you the fastest."

"Huh? I get Neji because I beat him once in front of everybody, but why Hanabi-chan? I haven't even talked to her, I think."

Naruto couldn't see Kiba's grin. "It's because-"

"While this is all very interesting, I'm afraid I called you here to do more than socialize. We need to discuss an issue that affects us all. What to do about Sasuke."

The room went instantly quiet. Naruto might have once jumped up to defend Sasuke from anyone, but you didn't become a Sage and not realize that listening to those around you was a good idea.

Sakura's lips trembled, making her smile not appear as natural. "What do you mean, Shikamaru-kun?"

"I mean that we might in the future be tasked with his retrieval, or even elimination. If it comes to that, it would be better that we're all on the same page regarding his fate. To that end, I'd like to hear your opinions on what to do with him. Kiba, you start."

"Really? Fine, I always thought he was a prick, way too smug about being Uchiha. He betrayed us and nearly got several of us killed when we went to save him from that Orochimaru asshole. I'm not saying he deserves to die, but I wouldn't shed too many tears if he did, you know?"

Next was Shino. "I agree with Kiba's view, but I believe we should be the ones to kill him. Why? Because he spit on our goodwill. We might not have liked him, but we gave him several chances to join us. He instead defected and nearly killed Naruto-san in the process." At this, said victim of the Lightning Cutter stood and moved to the window, staring out into the rest of Konoha.

Hinata's turn. "I don't like killing. Sasuke betrayed and almost got several people killed. The key word there is almost. If he actually did it, I would support any mission to kill him, but I find myself at ease with simply imprisoning him. For now."

Chouji and Ino agreed with Hinata, having no other salient points to make. Shikamaru agreed with Shino, believing that they needed to have an active role is stopping him, though not necessarily killing.

Sakura's face had been growing paler and her smile dropped as she heard the opinions of her classmates. She didn't say anything, salt streaks forming on her cheeks from her quiet sobbing. Teams 8 and 10 looked to her, then Naruto's back. He must have felt it, since he turned back around and stood behind Sakura, placing a familiar hand on her shoulder. He wasn't frowning, but the atmosphere made Shikamaru think today would determine Naruto's opinion of them for years to come. When he spoke, it was quiet, in a voice no one thought he could use.

"Sasuke has been through a lot. His brother killed his family and used a powerful genjutsu on him. Twice. His…emotional resilience is non-existent. Sasuke doesn't know how to deal with people he loves, he goes through the motions of what he sees around him.

When I met Itachi, I told him I'm a far better brother to Sasuke than he ever was. I'll stand by that statement. There's a connection that only forms when you fight all out with your heart on display, when you only want to push each other to be better.

I know that Sasuke is in a bad place. I also know that people have more options than they realize, and they have an active role in creating their own fates. For that, I'm willing to bring him in, like the rest of you. Unlike you all, I draw the line of tolerance much higher. Killing Sasuke is a final act, we can't do anything after that. As long as he isn't fully irredeemable, I'll forgive as much as possible. Right now, he isn't anywhere near that line."

With that, Naruto picked up Sakura and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he led her back home.

* * *

Naruto frowned. He'd just gotten new clothes too! This water would ruin them.

He stood in front of the Falls of Truth. Baa-chan had apparently been livid but let him go to this island. That rapping jinchuriki from Kumo, Killer Bee, hadn't been a single help in training to use the Nine-tails' chakra. Instead, Motoi had led him here, some place called the Falls of Truth. Supposedly, Bee had taken the first step here. Motoi was irritatingly vague about what actually happened inside, only that Naruto had to "defeat the worst manifestation of evil imaginable" to proceed.

He walked through the opening, and entered the massive chamber inside. The inside was dry and cool, despite the massive amounts of water vapor in the air immediately outside.

So, just sit and meditate. Wait for it to approach.

He closed his eyes and waited, listening only to the sounds of the falls behind him.

He most definitely did not scream when a hand was placed on his shoulder and a very familiar voice said, "You can stop now, I'm here."

Naruto rose and stared at himself. The copy was exactly the same, only it had black schlera and red pupils. It smiled at him, raising its hand and gently cupping Naruto's cheek.

Naruto didn't say anything. It was better to speak only when one had salient points, something Jiraiya taught him. Connecting Motoi's hint, the person in front of him, and one of D.3.S's lessons, he realized what was happening. He smiled back at his doppelganger.

"No one is the villain in their own story."

The other Naruto nodded, dropping his hand and smile.

"You want to gain access to the Nine-tails' chakra, and use it to defeat Akatsuki. But why should you be the one to do it? I could also do it, and also make sure no one takes more advantage of us. That they don't think 'gullible idiot' or 'naïve' when they see us walking by. Convince me that you should be in charge."

Naruto collected his thoughts, wondering what to say. This clone of his was the worst evil HE could imagine. Yet it likely had his own chakra capacity, his own techniques, his own intelligence. What made this clone the worst thing possible?

He studied his other's face, and realized the first difference between them. His clone was shy, unwilling to fully meet his eyes when he stared. And his posture was slightly hunched, his head slightly forward. Hands filled with slightly more chakra than normal, indicating conscious preparation to flow chakra into a technique when needed.

His clone…was scared. Wary of him.

Ah, so that's what his evil was.

"You don't trust others."

His clone opted to look at his feet.

"We've been betrayed quite a bit. Our dad asked for our identity to be known, despite knowing how jinchuriki were treated. Jiji, smarter than even he was, still honored his request and let everyone know who we were. Sasuke left us, wanting revenge against Itachi."

"Every betrayal hurt. Still hurts. But you know what?"

The copy held onto every word coming out of Naruto's mouth.

"We can't let it hold us back."

"It's the sad truth of this world that only the strong can affect their environment. The weak and cowardly react, the strong act."

"We can't stop people from trying to hurt us. We can only be as strong as possible-"

"And live with the consequences." His clone finished the phrase.

"You don't have to trust dad, or jiji, or even Sasuke. I'm not certain I do myself, even if they did what they thought was good. But I trust myself. You can do the same."

His clone stared at him for a good minute, he could almost hear the thoughts racing in its head. When it spoke, it seemed…resigned?

"Alright."

He didn't seem convinced himself, so he said it again, louder.

"Alright. I'll leave it to you. Though there is a shortcut to what you want. Most people who come here and succeed take up to two months to access tailed beast chakra how they want. They forget that in leaving their evil half to the ashes, they are only half of themselves. Yin without yang. Yang without yin. They never even realize it."

"However, if we merge our entities together, we can succeed much faster."

Naruto frowned. He wasn't good with genjutsu, how would he make sure this didn't hurt…them afterwards? He asked as much.

"As you said. Trust. I trust you because I trust myself."

The clone moved closer, placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders.

"Place your hands on my shoulders like I did. When I activate this, there are two options. We could fight for control, or we trust the other to not usurp us. I tell you this as honestly as I can, though you certainly have no reason to trust me. I won't fight you."

Naruto watched as his counterpart started channeling chakra. He felt that moment when he could have fought. He certainly felt no fighting from the clone. He could easily take over.

But he wouldn't. He trusted himself. He'd live with the consequences of this.

One minute passed. Five minutes. Then, silence.

A lone figure stumbled out, ignoring the water crashing down on them. They smiled.

It really was amazing what a little trust got you.

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the gates separating him and the Nine-tails. It watched him with feigned disinterest as he approached the seal.

"So, my enslaver wishes to speak to me? What now, a choice between bad and worse?"

"No. Simply a request to negotiate."

"Hmm? And why would you wish for that? Surely, you have no problem ripping my energy from me when you wish?"

This time, Naruto frowned. "I've never done that willingly. I had no hand in your sealing or the seal used. I never wanted this, but I have you, so I'll live with it."

"True. What, then, do you wish to negotiate for? Even if I wanted to, I could not give you any chakra. You have access to it already, and you use it for healing yourself."

"I want your cooperation."

"…Oh? And what, pray tell, could you need my agreement for? What manner of future Hokage would ask a tailed beast for help?"

He ignored the crude jab at his dream. "We're about to fight Uchiha Madara and the rest of Akatsuki. To that end, I need to be able to fully synchronize and use vast amounts of your chakra in combat. Just healing won't be enough."

The fox glanced at him. "You had my interest, but now you have my attention. What do you offer me, so that I don't possess you or simply disintegrate your body as I escape?"

"Simple. I can give you freedom."

"…Even if we reached an agreement, your fellow ants would not allow it. I am a weapon for them, a symbol of eternal might, passed down like some toy from parent to child."

"I don't give a fuck what they say."

The Nine-tails stared at him.

"Seriously, I don't. What they say has no bearing on what I do. I didn't choose to become jinchuriki, but they lost any ownership, as despicable as it sounds, when they sealed you in me. If I want to release you, I'll do it."

It sneered at him, all teeth.

"And what will stop others from trying to seal me when I leave? I have no guarantee that I'll walk unmolested for more than a day at best."

Naruto grinned. "Simple. Because I'm going to do something others didn't think of."

* * *

Madara was here, facing their entire army with only himself and Zetsu.

They only knew this because Tobi, that orange-masked Akatsuki nin, was actually Obito, one of Kakashi-sensei's old teammates. Supposedly, Madara planned to become jinchuriki of the Ten-tails. He needed every tailed beast to do so, but he'd be unstoppable when he got them.

The man was crazy powerful. Naruto remembered the lessons on how he'd been Konoha's first missing-nin, and fought the First Hokage after taking control of Kurama. Even the Tsuchikage's Dust release hadn't been the killing blow it was feared for.

Then Madara struck. Naruto was able to dodge, Sage mode granting him a limited combat precognition, grabbing Sakura in the process. Sasuke spun off to the side, hair ruffled by the winds generated by the attack.

But Kakashi-sensei? He'd been shielding them. Madara's attack came too fast for him to move. A fist emerged from his back, as he went limp around the piercing appendage.

Naruto screamed in useless defiance as the bastard stole his sensei's sharingan as well, then tossed him to the side like a piece of dirt. He didn't need enhanced senses to tell him that his beloved mentor was dead.

As he watched Madara insert the eye, the world froze around him, and he could feel how slowly time was progressing.

A name appeared in his brain as if he'd known for years. He gasped, realizing what this meant.

 _Naruto, you are a fine summoner. One of the greatest of them all. But I cannot continue your education with us without revealing a secret._

 _Frog summoners can never die peacefully._

 _Held under the Temple of Midna is a beast. A dragon that existed somehow before time and space themselves. Only the combined powers of the gods sent its dominion of ice back to its original lair. Have you not wondered why there aren't as many gods as the scriptures say there used to be? The dragon's ice held the power to freeze even a god's soul. And any frozen object is immediately under its control. It is said that even in its banishment, the dragon happily feasted on divine souls._

 _I tell you this because we frogs were chosen by the Sage himself to keep the dragon from escaping. But we can only do this with souls. More specifically, the souls of our summoners._

 _…_ _Yes, I did appear for you that first time, before the Chunin exams, because I believed you would end its desires. Your soul is strong, powerful enough that it would never eat another, digesting on your soul energy for eternity, though your soul itself would be annihilated immediately. No spiritual torture will occur. When it is time, the dragon's name shall be known to you. Speak it and perform the ritual._

 _…_ _I am sorry for manipulating you like this. Every summoner has been chosen to be willing to sacrifice themselves. It is a blatant violation of the spirit of voluntarism we hold ourselves to._

 _…_ _Yes, it is moral cowardice on my part. I am not the one sent to feed the dragon._

 _What is your choice then, child? Will you leave us or sacrifice yourself?_

He'd made his decision then (though was it really a decision if they knew how he would act?). D.3.S had taught him about the dragon more than a year ago, so he'd already written letters for everyone that D.3.S promised to deliver upon his death.

The dragon couldn't take his soul just like that. It required repayment in his favor. The dragon was forced to direct its eldritch powers at his enemies, though they needed to be very specific.

 _One from a time that is gone. One that exists now. One that will never be. One of these must be a true sacrifice._

 _For the ancient being, I choose the Ten-tails._ He had a picture in his head of three unlit lamps, one suddenly igniting.

 _For the one who exists now, I choose Uchiha Madara._ A second lamp emitted light.

Now for the being who wouldn't exist, the true sacrifice.

A true sacrifice meant someone he was close to. Someone he'd protect until the end. He couldn't choose himself, the rules didn't allow it.

But he'd chosen who it was long ago.

He never knew who the mother was in all those dreams. But if he died here, then so did his child, the one he constructed in his mind, a part of his family.

 _For the one that will never be, I offer my child to be._

Three lamps lit.

The combined forces of the great villages watched as Madara inserted the Copy-nin's eye into his, the second sharingan activating without the crippling chakra loss Kakashi had suffered with it.

The Uchiha looked at the beast he'd awakened, the Ten-tails. It's single eye inadvertently looked at what it perceived as prey and froze. A sharingan formed in its eye, cementing Madara's control over the most powerful of tailed beasts.

As the leader of the Akatsuki grinned and prepared to seal the beast in himself, a muted thrum was heard behind him.

All forces held their breath as Uzumaki Naruto, former container of the Nine-tails, spoke three sentences, in some unknown language. With each sentence, he floated higher into the air, until he was perhaps 15 meters above the ground.

His eyes were closed. The wind around him blew slow at first, then faster and faster. It was difficult to even look at him, but those with enough chakra created transparent chakra surfaces around their eyes, informing their allies what was happening.

The wind didn't howl, however. It was quiet, as if everything joyous and heartbreaking that could be heard in the air was sucked out of it.

It was getting colder as well, the air temperature dropping rapidly. Most shinobi started backing off, after seeing some unfortunate comrades who were too close freeze to death instantaneously.

Madara was now watching with wide eyes, unable to come closer without every bit of energy being frozen out of his system. He couldn't even complete the ritual, since part of a growing ice mass was covering the elaborate seal he'd laid earlier, lines of chakra disrupted, then _devoured_ by the ice.

The wind and coldness suddenly stopped. A brief moment in which Naruto's whisper of a name that defied time was heard across the battlefield.

 _Trishula._

The winds howled louder than before, the cold spreading faster. At the nexus, Naruto's body glowed brightly, blinding any shinobi still observing him. In the future, it would be known that they had seen his soul, something they only perceived a part of, their minds unable to comprehend what was actually there.

His body glowed brighter and brighter, almost purely golden at this point.

Then, it disappeared into itself. A gash appeared where he'd been hovering. It grew bigger and wider, as large as the Hokage tower now, the bitter cold in the air growing colder as ice literally formed everywhere around the tear in spacetime.

From the gash came a roar so powerful that knocked everyone down, even Zetsu. The very air seemed to shake.

The ground shook in a slow pattern, as something walked out of the large portal.

A blizzard suddenly started, snow coming down quicker by the second despite it being summer. It piled up fast, several centimeters built up in less than a minute.

The thing was now coming out, stepping into reality.

It stood at 10 meters tall. The body was ocean blue, with ice armor on its tail, claws, and chest. Its massive wings appeared to be made entirely of almost transparent ice. The oddest part was that it had three heads. One that formed from the top of the chest like a normal head, but it also had one on either side of that head.

The center head's mouth was open, a golden ball of light sitting inside.

The heads on the left and right opened their mouths, spheres of nothingness forming inside. A beam shot forward from each.

The first hit the Ten-tails, splattering like an ink blot upon striking. The black started spreading, the beast not resisting due to its hypnotized state.

The second hit Madara, homing in precisely on his form. Faster than he could react, he was caught by the beam, covered entirely.

The Ten-tails was now completely covered as well, and the beams started retracting with their prey. As they got shorter, both man and beast shrunk, until they were compressed into the size of the balls, and sucked into the black spheres. Both heads swallowed, then roared, deafening many shinobi nearby.

The portal then moved forward, capturing the monster, the closed.

Silence.

The Kages still had the presence of mind to go after the last leader on the opposition; Black Zetsu.

He didn't last long, though he sold himself dearly.

* * *

"Are you fine with this?"

"Tch. Yes, this will work."

"Good. Naruto-kun wanted to keep you safe from humans, at least until it's safe."

"Yes, and with my brethren and a portion of myself gone into the maw of the Elder Dragon, humans will eventually forget how to seal us away."

"Indeed, but should you try to kill them, I suspect at least one will know how to seal you again. This time, forever."

"Look at me. I can't exactly go out and hope to survive."

D.3.S laughed, looking down at the diminutive fox below him, no larger than a human child.

"You knew what would happen when he took all that chakra. Think of it as a boon. Your chakra will come back in several hundred years, by which time you may very well be forgotten, free to roam the world unhindered."

The Nine-tails didn't even bother responding, just walked away to mind some place to sleep that wasn't a wet log or patch of grass. Not that he would, of course.

D.3.S summoned a frog to bring a book that detailed their previous summoners' exploits.

He opened it, flipping to the first unused page. The frog waited with a brush, ready for dictation.

He thought about it, then smiled.

"The Tale of the Frog Prince."

* * *

 **A.N: So this was the result of a writing prompt on the Naruto Fanfiction subreddit. The challenge was to write about something going wrong with the summoning technique. So I wrote this, a fic in which Naruto gets access to Yu-Gi-Oh frogs.  
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 **This is my first fic, so please leave a review on what works and what doesn't. Thank you.**

 **1/25/18: Edited some grammar.**


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